


romance and dating are dumb and boring.

by guttersvoice



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Feelings, M/M, aromantic(but not asexual)!John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-25
Updated: 2012-03-25
Packaged: 2017-11-02 12:32:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/369007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guttersvoice/pseuds/guttersvoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave just doesn’t understand John at all.</p><p>It’s been less than five seconds since he turned Dave down and explained that he doesn’t want to date anyone at all, and now there are soft lips crushed sloppily against his own and pianist’s fingers threaded through his hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	romance and dating are dumb and boring.

Dave just doesn’t understand John at all.

It’s been less than five seconds since he turned Dave down and explained that he doesn’t want to date anyone at all, and now there are soft lips crushed sloppily against his own and pianist’s fingers threaded through his hair.

And of course he kisses back, of course he does, but he doesn’t know what this means, what John means by this, but the taller boy is warm and Dave – honestly, truly, as far as he can tell – is utterly besotted with him. So even if it’s just one kiss to say sorry, or as a booby prize of sorts, he clings to it, completely pliable in John’s hands, not caring about their glasses clacking or John’s teeth, or the fact that he really is short enough that he has to lean up to kiss John.

When John pulls away, though, he’s smiling, and his eyes are gleaming, and Dave thinks, for one awful second, that this is some sort of prank, that John thinks he was joking about his feelings or that he now hates Dave.

“Romance and dating are dumb and boring,” John informs him, cheerily, and Dave doesn’t know what to say to that, because hasn’t John always gushed over the romance in all of his shitty movies?

Has he, actually? Dave finds himself even less sure, now; it’s always been the father-child relationships, really, more than the romance, if he thinks about it.

But John continues. “Can’t we just be friends like we always have and maybe make out and stuff when we feel like it?”

“Oh,” Dave says, and, suddenly self-conscious, he realises that his face is red, and there’s a little bit of drool on his chin from John’s overenthusiastic kissing. He wipes it off with his sleeve. “Well…” he hesitates a little, not quite having figured out what to say at all. “What, so you mean…like dating, but without the whole…going on dates…thing?”

God, he sounds so awkward, proper little teenage boy, and he has to sharply remind himself that he is a teenage boy and that’s ok, it’s John, the one who knows full well that Dave isn’t nearly as cool as he makes himself out to be. But it doesn’t make him feel any better about it.

John hasn’t noticed that, though, apparently, and just nods.

“Basically. And all the hand-holding, romancey, sticky-sweet stuff, you know?”

Dave does know. John means the growing old together and the long phone calls and the eating dinner just the two of them and it meaning something. The stuff that the coolkid can’t ever really admit to desperately wanting.

“You mean friends with benefits.” It’s a statement, not a question, and he hates how broken his own voice sounds.

John grimaces, screwing up his face in the way that makes his glasses fall down his nose.

“That makes it sound sort of really bad. I mean best friends who sort of make out sometimes and stuff,” he explains, and now he’s finally having the good decency to blush a little. “I just don’t want to do the dating thing, or the romance thing, or any of that, probably ever.”

Dave’s throat is clogged with disappointment, and his heart is pounding with anticipation and excitement.

“And, like, this way no one has to break up with anyone. Everyone’s a lot safer this way, emotionally speaking,” John explains, clearly getting a little flustered now, and Dave tries to force his standard expression back into place. “Not that I don’t feel anything at all towards you, Dave! I mean, you’re my best friend, you know? I love you, but in a totally platonic way.”

The word _platonic_ is a knife to Dave’s heart.

“And I mean, you’re a really attractive guy, too, as well as being my best friend,” John continues, and Dave resists the urge to preen a little even as his emotions are tugged back and forth. “But I always assumed you were straight, you know? I figured you’d end up with either Terezi or Jade, haha! Plus, uh,” he flushes, looking at his feet. “I figured even if you were interested in me like that you wouldn’t be interested in, um, the sort of relationship I’d be comfortable with. So, yeah, if you’re not ok with it just say, ok? Because I wouldn’t want you to do something you wouldn’t be ok with, and I don’t want you to think that it’d be more than makeoutpals or whatever, I guess?”

This is a lot for Dave to take in, but he’s pretty sure he understands what John’s trying to say, through all the babble.

“No, I get it,” he responds slowly, and John’s expression lights right up. He’s beautiful, Dave thinks, a little sadly, winding his arms around John’s neck and moving so their noses are just barely touching. “How about a compromise?” He suggests, after a good fifteen seconds of silence.

John looks predictably confused, and a little worried – no doubt assuming Dave wants more out of him than he can give, which, honestly, is true. But Dave loves John too much, and could never push him into something like that.

“I’ll agree to that if you can promise me not to make a similar arrangement with anyone else.”

John beams and nods enthusastically, and Dave allows his lips to twitch into a smile that says ‘of course I get it, asshole’, and they kiss again.

And pretty soon the kissing turns into wrestling, and then they play videogames, and Dave wins every time but once.

And maybe this way of doing things isn’t nearly as awful as Dave thought it could be.


End file.
